HARTFORD -- Eddie Perez walked in to cheers from his supporters. He stood upon the stage and thanked every single person for their support during his campaign.
“I want to say thank you to all of my volunteers, all the people who gave me financial assistance, all the people who signed my petitions and especially each and every voter that voted for me tonight. Muchas gracias,” said former Hartford Mayor Eddie Perez.
Perez says it was that support that reminded him why he got into public service in the first place.
Perez spent months going door-to-door in Hartford neighborhoods for four to six hours a day. He campaigned on improving education and bringing Hartford’s communities together.
Perez would fall short to incumbent Mayor Luke Bronin. He said he felt good about the campaign he ran and wouldn’t change a thing.
“We did everything we wanted to do. We were on target with our own work," said Perez. "There is nothing I would do differently. We worked hard. We made our case and we fell short.”
Perez congratulated both Mayor Bronin and Representative Brandon McGee for running a great campaign.
Perez was able to gain enough signatures to be on the ballot in November. The question remains whether or not he will run.
"All I’m going to do is talk to my family. I’m going to do a little praying and I’m going to talk to my supporters. Those decisions don’t come lightly but they also have to be calculated decisions that we have to make," said Perez.
Perez will decide in the next few weeks if he will run as an independent in the November election.